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February 9, 2007 : Leptospermum rotundifolium
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Keywords: Myrtaceae | Leptospermum rotundifolium (Maiden & Betche) F. Rodway ex Cheel | Strybing Arboretum, San Francisco, California
The last photograph in this series on Australian plants is again supplied by Eric in SF@Flickr (original pic | BPotD Flickr Group Pool). I emphasized this series because it's likely we'll revisit Australian plants in a shorter series later this month – for reasons to be revealed, I couldn't share a few of the photographs I've recently received (yet). Thanks once more, Eric.
Tea trees are not the source of conventional tea, but were used by early European settlers of Australia in a similar fashion to make a tea substitute. Use by the Aborigines ranged from wood in weapons and tools to medicines. Modern use of the round-leaved tea tree, today's photo, extends into ornamental horticulture where it is described by the Australian National Botanic Gardens as “one of Australia's best Leptospermum sp. and one with great potential for hybridisation” and “a fine screen or feature plant”.
The medicinal uses identified by the Aborigines are, at least in part, reflected by another economic byproduct of Leptospermum: tea-tree honey, which is highly anti-bacterial.
Technical descriptions of this species (and distribution) are available from the New South Wales Flora Online, Leptospermum rotundifolium, while a more general description of round-leaved tea tree is provided by the Australian National Botanic Gardens.
Botany / history resource link: the UBC Library has digitized some of the Charles Darwin Letters and they are now available online for the first time (press release).
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at February 9, 2007 12:00 AM
Comments
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Posted by: shivangi at February 9, 2007 12:21 AM
Leptospermum rotundifolium - Z9 - RHS Index of Garden Plants, Griffiths
Posted by: Beverley at February 9, 2007 12:46 AM
i admire the talent and shareing on your page
i come every day and this day i say thank you
Posted by: elizabeth a airhart at February 9, 2007 5:39 AM
I recognize this and most (if not all) of the previous Australian flora pics as fairly common to the SF Bay Area. Our common lack of water makes these xerophilic plants popular among local gardeners.
Posted by: Stan Flouride at February 9, 2007 10:16 AM
Amazing! Very beautiful!!
Posted by: fotrristi at February 9, 2007 2:15 PM
I come here for the beautiful photos and associated plant info, but once again, your various links are outstanding! In addition to Mr. Darwin's revelations, I clicked on last year's post (Eriophyllum) and found the photographic atlas link - wonderful for a self-teaching amateur botanist. Many thanks for all the work you put into this site.
Posted by: bev at February 9, 2007 2:15 PM
Dainty ... makes me wish a cup of tea out of one of my bone china cups, perhaps tomorrow!
Posted by: Cyndy Henderson at February 9, 2007 4:35 PM
PS I agree with elizabeth airhart.
Posted by: Cyndy Henderson at February 9, 2007 4:37 PM
I have this growing in one of the gardens I care for in a somewhat protected area in Seattle. Has withstood freezing temperatures and snow. Is about 6' tall and very beautiful. We transplanted it about two years ago and didn't suffer for the transplanting.
Posted by: Sue at February 13, 2007 7:50 AM
Please share your comments about the photograph(s) and accompanying write-up. Telling a story about the subject of the photograph(s) is also much appreciated! If you have a gardening question, the best place to ask is on the UBC Botanical Garden Forums. Thank you!
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Botany Photo of the Day is a project of the UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research, located in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. UBC BGCPR is a department of the Faculty of Land and Food Systems within The University of British Columbia.
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